The Virtual Terminal Tour
(Grand Central Terminal)
Presentation by Dashae Roberts, Gyuri Nam and Sam Santos
Collected Interview Data
What’s the first thing you notice when you walk into Grand Central?
Ummm. The first thing I would say I noticed when I walked into Grand Central Station would be all the history.
Probably the ceiling.
What do you consider the most iconic symbol in Grand Central?
The most iconic symbol I would say is the ceiling.
Tell me what you know about that symbol.
I don’t really know that much about but it looks nice.
Not that much I think it has something to do with Astrology but I’m not sure.
Is technology vital to your traveling? If so, why?
Of course! Technology, especially my phone. It’s probably the most essential part to my traveling. That's how I know all the train information I need to know and it’s also something extra to do when I’m waiting.
Facts about the Terminal
● By 1869 Cornelius Vanderbilt controlled all the railroads into NYC, and engaged the architect John B.Snook to design a “head house” at Fourth Avenue and 42nd Street, which opened in 1871 as Grand Central Depot.
● On Feb. 2, 1913, the doors to Grand Central Terminal officially opened to the public, after 10 years of construction and at a cost of more than $2 billion in today's dollars.
● Grand Central Terminal is the world's largest terminal with 44 platforms with 67 tracks, covering 48 acres.
● It has 10 underground stories with infrastructure.
● More than 125,000 commuters and half a million pedestrians pass through it daily.
Source: Jackson, Kenneth T. "Grand Central Terminal." The Encyclopedia of New York City. New Haven, CT: Yale UP, 1995. 543. Print.
The Main Concourse
● The Large waiting room at Grand Central Station.
● A vast, space 120 feet. (36 meters) wide, 375 ft. (114 meters) long and 125 feet (38 meters) high.
● It also holds a number of iconic symbols such as the blue ceiling painted to resemble a starlit sky and the opal clock
● And all throughout the Terminal—engraved in the marble and on every lighting fixture are acorns and oak leaf clusters. It’s the Vanderbilt family symbol: “From the acorn grows the mighty oak.”
Source: Jackson, Kenneth T. "Grand Central Terminal." The Encyclopedia of New York City. New Haven, CT: Yale UP, 1995. 543. Print.
"Everything You Never Knew You Wanted To Know About Grand Central Terminal." Gothamist. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2015. <http://gothamist.
com/2015/05/12/grand_central_facts.php>.
Photo Courtesy of Wikepdia.org
The Ceiling
● The ceiling designs were developed by J. Monroe Hewlett and executed largely by Charles Basing and his associates.
● The concave ceiling created a view of the heavens from Aquarius to Cancer in an October sky, 2,500 stars — 59 of them illuminated and intersected by two broad golden bands representing the ecliptic and the Equator. (The Mediterranean Winter Sky)
● Next to Cancer, the crab, you’ll find a small, dark patch of brick. This brick reveals what the station’s ceiling looked like before it was cleaned during the restoration project in 1998.
● Layers of dirt were removed from the ceiling, allowing the astrological mural originally made in 1912 and replaced in the 1930s to be seen again..
Source: Roberts, Sam. "100 Years of Grandeur." The New York Times. The New York Times, 19 Jan. 2013. Web. 03 Nov. 2015. <http://www.nytimes.
com/2013/01/20/nyregion/the-birth-of-grand-central-terminal-100-years-later.html?pagewanted=all>.
Photo Courtesy of The New York Times
The Clock
● It’s located in the center on the main concourse attached to the information booth.
● The clock has four faces made of opal, estimated at a value of $10-20 million.
● The little bulbous point at the top is a compass that’s aligned to true north so the four sides of the clock line up perfectly with the four compass points of the building.
● On top of the clock on the Information Booth, there is an acorn. And all throughout the Terminal—engraved in the marble and on every lighting fixture are acorns and oak leaf clusters. It’s the Vanderbilt family symbol:
“From the acorn grows the mighty oak.”
● A secret trap door in the kiosk below the clock leads to a spiral staircase down to the lower level info booth.
Source: N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Nov. 2015. <http://gotham-magazine.com/centennial-secrets-of-grand-central-terminal>.
Begley, Sarah. The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast, n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2015.
Photo Courtesy of CNN.com
The Reliefs
● Windows were ornamented with plaster reliefs of winged locomotive wheels, branches of foliage symbolizing transportation, and clouds.
● There are also acorns and oak leaves are carved in stone throughout.These were the adopted symbols of the Vanderbilts, as “from an acorn a mighty oak shall grow.”
● The reliefs are made of terracotta and is stamped out of mold.
Sources: Roberts, Sam. "100 Years of Grandeur." The New York Times. The New York Times, 19 Jan. 2013. Web. 03 Nov. 2015. <http://www.nytimes.
com/2013/01/20/nyregion/the-birth-of-grand-central-terminal-100-years-later.html?pagewanted=all>.
Jackson, Kenneth T. "Grand Central Terminal." The Encyclopedia of New York City. New Haven, CT: Yale UP, 1995. 543. Print.
2-D Diagram of How it Works
Apple store
This is the model of the apple store in grand central that will work in collaboration with the phone application.
At the Apple store, the app will be advertised
throughout and people will be able to gain access on help with how to use the app.
Users will be able to retain detailed information about the places that they scan in the grand central using the camera feature function on their phones
connected to the app in a 360 view point.
Virtual Terminal Tour App
First page of the App
Virtual Terminal Tour App
Menu of the App
Virtual Terminal Tour App
“Accounts” Tab of the App where the user can
keep track of their points and rewards from the
app
Bibliography
Begley, Sarah. The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast, n.d. Web. 01 Nov. 2015.
Jackson, Kenneth T. "Grand Central Terminal." The Encyclopedia of New York City. New Haven, CT: Yale UP, 1995. 543. Print.
“Centennial Secrets of Grand Central Terminal.” Centennial Secrets of Grand Central Terminal. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Nov. 2015.
Roberts, Sam. "100 Years of Grandeur." The New York Times. The New York Times, 19 Jan. 2013. Web. 01 Nov. 2015.